Classification and Evolution in Biology, Linguistics and the History of Science
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Classification and Evolution in Biology, Linguistics and the History of Science Heiner Fangerau (Hrsg.), Hans Geisler (Hrsg.), Thorsten Halling (Hrsg.), William Martin (Hrsg.) Classification and Evolution in Biology, Linguistics and the History of Science Concepts – Methods – Visualization 2013. 198 p., 37 b/w ill, 8 b/w tables. soft cover ISBN 978-3-515-10460-9 Kurztext While Darwin’s grand view of evolution has undergone many changes and shown up in many facets, there remains one outstanding common feature in its 150-year history: since the very beginning, branching trees have been the dominant scheme for representing evolutionary processes. Only recently, network models have gained ground reflecting contact-induced mixing or hybridization in evolutionary scenarios. In biology, research on prokaryote evolution indicates that lateral gene transfer is a major feature in the evolution of bacteria. In the field of linguistics, the mutual lexical and morphosyntactic borrowing between languages seems to be much more central for language evolution than the family tree model is likely to concede. In the humanities, networks are employed as an alternative to established phylogenetic models, to express the hybridization of cultural phenomena, concepts or the social structure of science. However, an interdisciplinary display of network analyses for evolutionary processes remains lacking. Therefore, this volume includes approaches studying the evolutionary dynamics of science, languages and genomes, all of which were based on methods incorporating network approaches. Link zum Steiner Verlag/Bestellung E-Book Band 5 Kultur Anamnesen 5 While Darwin’s grand view of evolution has ing between languages seems to be much undergone many changes and shown up in more central for language evolution than the many facets, there remains one outstanding family tree model is likely to concede. In the common feature in its 150-year history: since humanities, networks are employed as an the very beginning, branching trees have alternative to established phylogenetic mod- Classification and Evolution in Biology, been the dominant scheme for representing els, to express the hybridization of cultural evolutionary processes. Only recently, net- phenomena, concepts or the social structure work models have gained ground reflecting of science. However, an interdisciplinary Linguistics and the History of Science contact-induced mixing or hybridization in display of network analyses for evolutionary evolutionary scenarios. In biology, research processes remains lacking. Therefore, this Concepts – Methods – Visualization on prokaryote evolution indicates that lateral volume includes approaches studying the gene transfer is a major feature in the evolu- evolutionary dynamics of science, languages EDITED BY HEINER FANGERAU, HANS GEISLER, tion of bacteria. In the field of linguistics, the and genomes, all of which were based on mutual lexical and morphosyntactic borrow- methods incorporating network approaches. THORSTEN HALLING AND WILLIAM MARTIN Classification and Evolution Classification www.steiner-verlag.de KA Wissenschaftsforschung Geschichte und Philosophie der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften Franz Steiner Verlag Franz Steiner Verlag ISBN 978-3-515-10460-9 Fangerau / Geisler / Halling / Martin / Halling / Geisler Fangerau 9 7 8 3 5 1 5 1 0 4 6 0 9 Classification and Evolution in Biology, Linguistics and the History of Science Edited by Heiner Fangerau, Hans Geisler, Thorsten Halling and William Martin Kultur Anamnesen Schriften zur Geschichte und Philosophie der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften Herausgegeben von Heiner Fangerau, Renate Breuninger und Igor Polianski in Verbindung mit dem Institut für Geschichte, Theorie und Ethik der Medizin, dem Humboldt- Studienzentrum für Philosophie und Geisteswissenschaften und dem Zentrum Medizin und Gesellschaft der Universität Ulm Band 5 Classification and Evolution in Biology, Linguistics and the History of Science Concepts – Methods – Visualization EDITED BY HEINER FANGERAU, HANS GEISLER, THORSTEN HALLING AND WILLIAM MARTIN Franz Steiner Verlag Based on a project funded by the: Umschlagabbildungen: Reihenlogo: Walter Draesner, „Der Tod und der Anatom“, Graphiksammlung „Mensch und Tod“ der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf Abbildung: “Network” by Arno Görgen Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek: Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über <http://dnb.d-nb.de> abrufbar. Dieses Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist unzulässig und strafbar. © Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2013 Druck: Laupp & Göbel, Nehren Gedruckt auf säurefreiem, alterungsbeständigem Papier. Printed in Germany. ISBN Buch: 978-3-515-10460-9 ISBN E-Book: 978-3-515-10589-7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword................................................................................................................. 7 1. Networks and evolution in the history of science........................................ 9 Heiner Fangerau Evolution of knowledge from a network perspective: recognition as a selective factor in the history of science.............................. 11 Hanne Andersen Bridging disciplines. Conceptual development in interdisciplinary groups. 33 Matthis Krischel, Heiner Fangerau Historical network analysis can be used to construct a social network of 19th-century evolutionists........................................................................... 45 Thierry Hoquet Translating natural selection: true concept, but false term?........................... 67 Frank Kressing The mapping of human biological and linguistic diversity: a bridge between the sciences and humanities............................................... 97 2. Phylogenetic classifications and network approaches in linguistics and biology.................................................................................................. 109 Hans Geisler and Johann-Mattis List Do languages grow on trees? The tree metaphor in the history of linguistics 111 George Starostin Lexicostatistics as a basis for language classification: increasing the pros, reducing the cons......................................................... 125 Jelena Prokić and John Nerbonne Analyzing Dialects Biologically.................................................................. 147 Shijulal Nelson-Sathi, Ovidiu Popa, Johann-Mattis List, Hans Geisler, William F. Martin and Tal Dagan Reconstructing the lateral component of language history and genome evolution using network approaches............................................................ 163 Philippe Lopez, Johann-Mattis List, Eric Bapteste A preliminary case for exploratory networks in biology and linguistics: the phonetic network of Chinese words as a case-study.............................. 181 Authors................................................................................................................ 197 FOREWORD Shortly after Charles Darwin published his seminal work On the Origin of Species in 1859, the concept of “evolution” entered nineteenth century thinking, and soon became a general metaphor to describe developmental processes in many scientific disciplines. One of the first scientists to adapt to Darwinian ideas was August Schleicher, who, in an open letter to Ernst Haeckel (1863), pointed out striking similarities between linguistic and biologic descent. He was also the first to present family trees as evolutionary trees, exemplified by postulating a common ancestor of all Indo-European languages. In 1871, Darwin incorporated these proposals in his book entitled The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, in which he placed strong emphasis on the importance of natural selection in linguistic evolu- tion.1 The on-going debates about evolution in biology and comparative philology had major cross-disciplinary impacts on theory building, both in natural and cul- tural sciences, and finally gave rise to “Universal Darwinism” (Dawkins 1983). Within the framework of a comprehensive “generalised theory of evolution,” the Darwinian principles of reproduction, variation and selection have gradually be- come detached from their biological substrate, being construed as abstract proper- ties of dynamic systems (for summaries see Gontier et al. 2006; Schurz 2011; Me- soudi 2011; Brinkworth et al. 2012; Ruse 2012; Sydow 2012). Recently, there has been an increase in the number of critics of universal or “generalised Darwinism”, who view it “as an overarching research strategy” (Levit et al. 2011). Specifically, critics have questioned the explanatory power of this ap- proach, which is based on the assumption of a fundamental homology between evolution in nature and the evolution of any kind of culture. While Darwinism has undergone many changes, and shown up in many facets, there remains an outstanding common feature in its history spanning more than 150 years; since the very beginning, branching trees have been the dominant scheme for representing evolutionary processes. In the analogy with kinship relations in a fam- ily tree, this scheme exclusively models evolution as vertical inheritance. However, the scheme does not cover lateral transfer, that is, the mixing or hybridizing species or languages. To describe this latter phenomenon, a reasonable approach seems to be the use of the